System for playing a game

ABSTRACT

A system for playing a zero-sum game includes a gaming server operable under program control to regulate the progress one or more instances of the zero-sum game such as multiplayer poker, and a number of portal websites on the World Wide Web of the Internet. The gaming server is also accessible on World Wide Web and enables participation in the instance of the zero-sum game by a predetermined number of players. The gaming server initiates further instances of the zero-sum game when all prior instances of the game have the predetermined plurality of participating players. Each player is able to access the gaming server by means of a corresponding Internet-enabled computer workstation, access for each player occurring through a respective one of the number of portal websites. The system maintains a register of players participating in the instance of the game. The register includes, for each participating player, data representative of a corresponding portal website through which the player accessed the gaming server. The gaming server provides a wagering facility operable by each player to place a wager on the instance of the zero-sum game, as well as a discrimination facility responsive to progress of the instance of the zero-sum game to determine whether any wager placed by anyone of the participating players is successful or unsuccessful. The gaming server maintains a clearing account corresponding to each one of the number of portal websites and each portal maintains a credit account for each player who is participating in the instance of the zero-sum game through that portal. The gaming server credits the clearing account of a portal associated with a player who has made a successful wager on the instance of the game with an amount equivalent to the total of all the unsuccessful wagers in that turn.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a system for playing a game, morespecifically, a multiplayer zero-sum game and, in particular, to asystem for playing a multiplayer zero-sum game on which wagers may beplaced, such as multiplayer poker. The invention extends to the methodof operation of the system for playing the game.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

The game of poker is widely played in many jurisdictions, particularlyin the United States of America. A traditional game of poker is amultiplayer game, generally accommodating a minimum of 4 and a maximumof between 8 and 10 players. In a turn of the game, one of theparticipating players assumes the role of a dealer and deals five cards(an “initial hand”), from a conventional deck of 52 playing cards, toeach participating player, inclusive of the dealer. The playing cards inthe initial hand are dealt face down to each player who does not, atthis stage of the game, disclose the playing cards that have been dealtto him.

Each one of the players is then required to decide, in turn, whether tocontinue with his participation in the turn of the game (that is, to“play”), or to terminate his participation in the turn (that is, to“fold”), as a function of the playing cards in his initial hand. Anyplayer who decides to fold does not participate any longer in the turnof the game. If all participating players decide to fold, the turn ofthe game terminates. The first player to decide to play is required tomake an opening wager on the turn of the game. Any other player whosubsequently also decides to play in the turn of the game is required tomatch or to increase (“raise”) the size of the opening wager. When thesize of the opening wager is raised, players who have made prior openingwagers are required to top up their wagers to match the size of thelargest opening wager made by any player who has elected to play in theturn of the game. This phase of the turn of the game continues untilevery player who desires to play in that turn has made an equivalentopening wager.

All the wagers made by each of the players are accumulated in a singlejackpot (“the pot”).

At this stage of the game, each player who has decided to play may, inturn, then decide to retain (that is, to “hold”) any one or more of thefive cards in his initial hand. Once a player has decided which, if any,of the five cards to hold, the player may then “draw”, in which theremaining cards of the initial hand are discarded and are replaced by anequivalent number of further cards dealt by the dealer from the deck ofplaying cards. This phase of the game will be referred to, forconvenience, as the drawing phase. If the player does not hold any ofthe cards in his initial hand, he is then effectively dealt an entirelynew hand of five cards at the drawing phase of the game. On the otherhand, if a particular player holds all of the five cards in his initialhand, he does not participate in the drawing phase, but still continuesto play in the turn of the game.

Once the drawing phase of the game has been completed, each playerevaluates the five cards that he has accumulated in the manner describedabove in order to determine whether they contain any one of a number ofdesirable combinations of playing cards. The desirability of anycombination of playing cards is inversely proportional to theprobability of being dealt that particular combination of cards. For astandard deck of 52 playing cards, desirable combinations of playingcards are, in order of increasing desirability: a pair of cards havingthe same rank (“one pair”); two pairs of cards in which the rank of eachpair is different (“two pairs”); three cards each having the same rank(“three of a kind”); a “straight” in which the five cards of a hand arein sequentially increasing rank order, with no restriction on suite; a“flush” in which the five cards are all of the same suite; a “fullhouse” in which three cards are each of the same rank, while theremaining two cards each have another identical rank; “four of a kind”in which four cards of the hand each have the same rank; a “straightflush” in which the five cards are in sequentially ascending rank orderand are all of the same suite; and a “royal flush” in which the fivecards are all of the same suite and are ranked Ace, King, Queen, Jackand 10. Where a deck is used that has fewer than 52 cards, theprobability of being dealt a full house is greater than being dealt aflush, making the latter combination of cards more desirable than theformer.

After completion of the drawing phase of the turn of the game andevaluation of the playing cards, all the players who have previouslydecided to play in the particular turn of the game are then againrequired to decide, in turn, as a function of the playing cards theyhave accumulated in the manner described above, whether to continueplaying or to fold. If all these players decide to fold, the turn of thegame terminates. The contents of the pot are carried forward to the nextturn of the game. Any player who decides to fold does not participateany further in the particular turn of the game and forfeits all thewagers he has made in that turn. The first player who made an openingwager may, if he decides to play, make a supplementary wager on the turnof the game. Any other player who subsequently also decides to play isrequired to match or to raise the size of the supplementary wager.Players who have previously made supplementary wagers are required totop up their supplementary wagers to match the size of the largestsupplementary wager. This phase of the particular turn of the gamecontinues until every player who has not folded has made an equivalentsupplementary wager. This stage of the game will be referred to, forconvenience, as the supplementary wagering stage.

The supplementary wagers made by each of the players who have decided tocontinue playing in the particular turn of the game are added to thepot.

Once the supplementary wagering stage of the turn of the game has beencompleted, the players who remain in the game reveal the playing cardsin their hands. The hands are compared, and the player with thehighest-ranking desirable hand wins the accumulated pot.

The rules of the game of poker have been described with particularreference to a variation of the game called “draw poker”. There are manyother variations of the game of poker that are not germane to theessence of the invention and that will not, for this reason, bedescribed here in detail.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the game ofpoker is a zero-sum game insofar as, in each turn of the game, a gain ofthe winner is equal to accumulated losses of the other players in thegame. It is, however, also known for a party who arranges or hosts agame of poker to levy a commission (“a rake”) on the players or on theaccumulated jackpot in order to obtain revenue.

The game of poker is played at both land-based and on-line casinos, atthe latter by means of the World Wide Web of the Internet. A generalfeature of such arrangements is that a player may only play in a pokergame at which an unoccupied playing position, or vacancy, exists. If apoker game has no vacancies available, a would-be player may have towait a considerable time before a vacant playing position becomesavailable, allowing the player to join the game, which causesfrustration and which may cause the would-be player to leave the casino.Conversely, a would-be player may also have to wait for a considerableperiod before a sufficient number of other would-be players becomeavailable to establish a poker game and to enable play to commence,which may also cause frustration and lead to player attrition. Both ofthese situations are tedious and, particularly in an on-lineenvironment, costly in terms of connection charges to the World Wide Webof the Internet.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide a system for playing amultiplayer zero-sum game, and to a method of operation thereof thatwill, at least partially, alleviate the abovementioned difficulties anddisadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention there is provided a system for playinga multiplayer zero-sum game, comprising:

-   a gaming server operable under program control to regulate the    progress of at least one instance of the zero-sum game, the gaming    server enabling participation in the at least one instance of the    zero-sum game by a predetermined plurality of players;-   a number of portals communicable with the gaming server by means of    a communication network;-   a user access facility corresponding to each player, each user    access facility being operable by a player to access the gaming    server along the communication network through a selectable one of    the number of portals;-   a register of players participating in the at least one instance of    the game, the register including, for each participating player,    data representative of a corresponding portal through which the    player accessed the gaming server;-   a wagering means operable by each player to place a wager on the at    least one instance of the zero-sum game; and-   discrimination means responsive to progress of the at least one    instance of the zero-sum game to determine whether a wager placed    thereon by any one of the participating players is successful or    unsuccessful.

Further features of the invention provide for the gaming server to beoperable under program control to initiate a further instance of thezero-sum game when all previous instances of the game have thepredetermined plurality of participating players, for the system toinclude an administration facility operable to legislate access at anytime to any instance of the game by any would-be player requestingparticipation in the game, as a function of a number of playerscurrently participating in that instance of the game, for theadministration facility to enable participation in any instance of thegame by players requesting participation through any one of the numberof portals, and for the register to include data corresponding to eachparticipating player in every instance of the game, the data beingrepresentative of an instance of the game in which that player isparticipating, and representative of a corresponding portal throughwhich that player accessed the gaming server.

Still further features of the invention provide for the system toinclude a clearing account facility having a clearing accountcorresponding to each one of the number of portals, for each portal toinclude a corresponding sub-register of players participating in anyinstance of the zero-sum game through that portal, for each portal tohave a corresponding credit account facility having a credit accountcorresponding to each player in its sub-register of players, for thesystem to include credit dispensing means capable of dispensingpurchased credit to any player participating in any instance of thezero-sum game in order to play the game, the credit account facilitybeing operable to credit the credit account of any player who haspurchased credit through the credit dispensing means with an amountequivalent to the credit purchased by that player.

Yet further features of the invention provide for the clearing accountfacility to be controllable by the discrimination means to debit theclearing account of a portal associated with each player who has made anunsuccessful wager on the turn of an instance of the game by an amountequivalent to the magnitude of that player's wager, for theadministration facility to withhold a portion of the total of all thewagers on the turn of the instance of the game as a rake, and for theclearing account facility to be controllable by the discrimination meansto credit the clearing account of a portal associated with a player whohas made a successful wager on the turn of the instance of the game byan amount equivalent to the total of all the unsuccessful wagers in thatturn, less the rake.

There is further provided for the credit account facility of a portal todebit the credit account of any player who has made a wager on the turnof the instance of the game by an amount equivalent to the magnitude ofthe wager, and for the credit account facility to credit the creditaccount of a player who has made a successful wager on the turn of theinstance of the game by an amount equivalent to the total of all thewagers inclusive of the successful wager, less the rake.

There is still further provided for the clearing account facility toadjust the individual clearing account balances of the portals onlyafter a plurality of turns of the instance of the zero-sum game as afunction of the outcomes of the plurality of turns, for each clearingaccount balance to have a corresponding minimum threshold, for theadministration facility to suspend from further participation in anyinstance of the zero-sum game all players whose associated portal has aclearing account balance that is less than its respective minimumthreshold, and for at least a portion of the rake in the turn of theinstance of the game to be credited to the clearing accounts of eachportal as a function of a proportion of players participating in theturn through that portal.

There is yet further provided for the communication network to be anopen communication network, preferably the Internet, for each portal tobe a website on the World Wide Web of the Internet, preferably anon-line casino website, alternatively a poker room website, for the useraccess facility to be a computer workstation connectable to the WorldWide Web of the Internet, for the rake withheld from the total of allthe wagers on each turn of the game to be zero, and for the multiplayerzero-sum game to be a game of multiplayer poker.

The invention extends to a server system for playing a multiplayerzero-sum game, comprising:

-   a gaming server operable under program control to regulate the    progress of at least one instance of the zero-sum game in which a    predetermined plurality of players can participate, the gaming    server being communicable with a number of portals by means of a    communication network and accessible by any one of the plurality of    players through a selectable one of the number of portals;-   a register of players participating in the at least one instance of    the game, the register including, for each participating player,    data representative of a corresponding portal through which the    player accessed the gaming server; and-   discrimination means responsive to progress of the at least one    instance of the zero-sum game to determine whether a wager placed    thereon by any one of the participating players is successful or    unsuccessful.

There is further provided for the gaming server to be operable underprogram control to initiate a further instance of the zero-sum game whenall previous instances of the game have the predetermined plurality ofparticipating players, for the system to include an administrationfacility operable to legislate access at any time to any instance of thegame by any would-be player requesting participation in the game, as afunction of a number of players currently participating in that instanceof the game, and for the register to include data corresponding to eachparticipating player in every instance of the game, the data beingrepresentative of an instance of the game in which that player isparticipating, and representative of a corresponding portal throughwhich that player accessed the gaming server.

There is still further provided for the server system to include aclearing account facility having a clearing account corresponding toeach one of the number of portals, for each portal to include asub-register of players participating in any instance of the zero-sumgame through that portal, for each portal to have a corresponding creditaccount facility having a credit account corresponding to each player inits sub-register of players, and for the server system to include creditdispensing means capable of dispensing purchased credit to any playerparticipating in any instance of the zero-sum game in order to play thegame, the credit account facility being operable to credit the creditaccount of any player who has purchased credit through the creditdispensing means with an amount equivalent to the credit purchased bythat player.

There is yet further provided for the clearing account facility to becontrollable by the discrimination means to debit the clearing accountof a portal associated with each player who has made an unsuccessfulwager on the turn of an instance of the game by an amount equivalent tothe magnitude of that player's wager, for the administration facility towithhold a portion of the total of all the wagers on the turn of theinstance of the game as a rake, and for the clearing account facility tobe controllable by the discrimination means to credit the clearingaccount of a portal associated with a player who has made a successfulwager on the turn of the instance of the game by an amount equivalent tothe total of all the unsuccessful wagers in that turn, less the rake.

There is also provided for the credit account facility of each portal todebit the credit account of any player who has made a wager on the turnof the instance of the game through that portal, by an amount equivalentto the magnitude of the wager, and for the credit account facility ofeach portal to credit the credit account of any player who has made asuccessful wager on the turn of the instance of the game through thatportal by an amount equivalent to the total of all the wagers inclusiveof the successful wager, less the rake.

There is further provided for the clearing account facility to adjustthe individual clearing account balances of the portals only after aplurality of turns of the any instance of the zero-sum game as afunction of the outcomes of the plurality of turns, for each clearingaccount balance to have a corresponding minimum threshold, for theadministration facility to suspend from further participation in anyinstance of the zero-sum game all players whose associated portal has aclearing account balance that is less than its respective minimumthreshold, for at least a portion of the rake in the turn of theinstance of the game to be credited to the clearing accounts of eachportal as a function of a proportion of players participating in theturn through that portal, for the rake withheld from the total of allthe wagers on each turn of the game to be zero, and for the multiplayerzero-sum game to be a game of multiplayer poker.

The invention extends still further to a method of operation of a systemfor playing a zero-sum game, comprising the steps of:

-   controlling a gaming server operable under program control to    regulate the progress of at least one instance of the zero-sum game,    the gaming server enabling participation in the at least one    instance of the zero-sum game by a predetermined plurality of    players;-   providing a number of portals communicable with the gaming server by    means of a communication network;-   establishing access to the gaming server for each player along the    communication network through a corresponding one of the number of    portals;-   maintaining a register of players participating in the at least one    instance of the game, the register including, for each participating    player, data representative of the corresponding portal through    which the player accessed the gaming server;-   accepting a wager from any participating player on the at least one    instance of the zero-sum game; and-   determining whether a wager placed by any one of the participating    players is successful or unsuccessful in response to progress of the    at least one instance of the zero-sum game.

There is also provided for controlling the gaming server to initiate afurther instance of the zero-sum game when all prior instances of thegame have the predetermined plurality of participating players, forlegislating access at any time to any instance of the game by anywould-be player requesting participation in the game, as a function of anumber of players participating in that instance of the game, forenabling participation in any instance of the game by players requestingparticipation in the game through any one of the number of portals, andfor including in the register data corresponding to each participatingplayer in every instance of the game, the data being representative ofan instance of the game in which that player is participating, andrepresentative of a corresponding portal through which that playeraccessed the gaming server.

There is also provided for maintaining a clearing account correspondingto each one of the number of portals, for establishing a sub-registercorresponding to each portal, the sub-register containing details ofplayers participating in any instance of the zero-sum game through thatportal, for maintaining a credit account corresponding to each playerincluded in the sub-register of players, and for dispensing purchasedcredit to any player participating in any instance of the zero-sum gamein order to play the game and crediting the credit account of any playerwho has purchased credit by an amount equivalent to the credit purchasedby that player.

There is also provided for debiting the clearing account of a portalassociated with each player who has made an unsuccessful wager on theturn of an instance of the game by an amount equivalent to the magnitudeof that player's wager, for withholding a portion of the total of allthe wagers on the turn of the instance of the game as a rake, and forcrediting the clearing account of a portal associated with a player whohas made a successful wager on the turn of the instance of the game byan amount equivalent to the total of all the unsuccessful wagers in thatturn, less the rake.

There is also provided for debiting the credit account of any player whohas made a wager on the turn of the instance of the game by an amountequivalent to the magnitude of the wager, and for crediting the creditaccount of a player who has made a successful wager on the turn of theinstance of the game by an amount equivalent to the total of all thewagers inclusive of the successful wager, less the rake.

There is also provided for adjusting the individual clearing accountbalances of the portals only after a plurality of turns of any instanceof the zero-sum game as a function of the outcomes of the plurality ofturns, for determining a corresponding minimum threshold associated witheach clearing account balance, for suspending from further participationin any instance of the zero-sum game all players whose associated portalhas a clearing account balance that is less than its respective minimumthreshold, and for crediting at least a portion of the rake in the turnof the instance of the game to the clearing accounts of each portal as afunction of a proportion of players participating in the turn throughthat portal, for setting the rake withheld from the total of all thewagers on each turn of the game to be zero, and for the zero-sum game tobe a game of multiplayer poker.

The invention extends yet further to a method of operation of a serversystem for playing a multiplayer zero-sum game, comprising the steps of:

-   controlling a gaming server to regulate the progress of at least one    instance of the zero-sum game, the gaming server enabling    participation in the at least one instance of the zero-sum game by a    predetermined plurality of players;-   providing a number of portals communicable with the gaming server by    means of a communication network;-   establishing access to the gaming server along the communication    network through a corresponding one of the number of portals;-   maintaining a register of players participating in the at least one    instance of the game, the register including, for each participating    player, data representative of a corresponding portal through which    the player accessed the gaming server;-   accepting a wager from any participating player on the at least one    instance of the zero-sum game; and-   determining whether a wager placed by any one of the participating    players is successful or unsuccessful in response to progress of the    at least one instance of the zero-sum game.

There is also provided for initiating a further instance of the zero-sumgame when all the prior instances of the game have the predeterminedplurality of participating players, for legislating access at any timeto any instance of the game by any would-be player requestingparticipation in the game, as a function of a number of playersparticipating in that instance of the game, for enabling participationin any instance of the game by players requesting participation in thegame through any one of the number of portals, and for including in theregister data corresponding to each participating player in everyinstance of the game, the data being representative of an instance ofthe game in which that player is participating, and representative of acorresponding portal through which that player accessed the gamingserver.

There is also provided for maintaining a clearing account correspondingto each one of the number of portals, for establishing a sub-registercorresponding to each portal, the sub-register containing details ofplayers participating in any instance of the zero-sum game through thatportal, for maintaining a credit account corresponding to each playerincluded in the sub-register of players, and for dispensing purchasedcredit to any player participating in any instance of the zero-sum gamein order to play the game, and crediting the credit account of anyplayer who has purchased credit by an amount equivalent to the creditpurchased by that player.

There is also provided for debiting the clearing account of a portalassociated with each player who has made an unsuccessful wager on theturn of an instance of the game by an amount equivalent to the magnitudeof that player's wager, for withholding a portion of the total of allthe wagers on the turn of the instance of the game as a rake, and forcrediting the clearing account of a portal associated with a player whohas made a successful wager on the turn of the instance of the game byan amount equivalent to the total of all the unsuccessful wagers in thatturn, less the rake.

There is also provided for debiting the credit account of any player whohas made a wager on the turn of the instance of the game by an amountequivalent to the magnitude of the wager, and for crediting the creditaccount of any player who has made a successful wager on the turn of theinstance of the game by an amount equivalent to the total of all thewagers inclusive of the successful wager, less the rake.

There is also provided for adjusting the individual clearing accountbalances of the portals only after a plurality of turns of any instanceof the zero-sum game as a function of the outcomes of the plurality ofturns, for determining a corresponding minimum threshold associated witheach clearing account balance, for suspending from further participationin any instance of the zero-sum game all players whose associated portalhas a clearing account balance that is less than its respective minimumthreshold, for crediting at least a portion of the rake in the turn ofthe instance of the game to the clearing accounts of each portal as afunction of a proportion of players participating in the turn throughthat portal, for setting the rake withheld from the total of all thewagers on each turn of the game to be zero, and for the zero-sum game tobe a game of multiplayer poker.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below, by way ofexample only, and with reference to the abovementioned drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a system for playing amultiplayer zero-sum game;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the steps required for a player toparticipate in the game of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the steps required for a participatingplayer to leave an instance of the game of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of the steps required to settle wagers placedby players participating in the multiplayer zero-sum game of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This embodiment of the invention will be described with particularreference to a system for playing a game of multiplayer poker. It is tobe clearly understood, however, that the scope of the invention is notlimited to this particular application.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system for playing a game of multiplayer poker isindicated generally by reference numeral (1). The system (1) includes agaming server (2), and a number of portals (3 a, 3 b) in the form ofportal websites on the World Wide Web of the Internet. In thisembodiment each one of the portal websites is an online casino websitehosted on a corresponding casino web server (not shown). Forconvenience, this particular embodiment of the invention will bedescribed with particular reference to only two such online casinowebsites (3 a, 3 b). Each one of the online casino websites (3 a, 3 b)is accessible by a would-be poker player (not shown) through a useraccess facility (4) in the form of an Internet-enabled computerworkstation having a display (5) and an associated pointing device (5a), such as a mouse or, alternatively, a touchpad. In this embodiment,online casino website (3 a) is shown as having one computer workstation(4) logically connected thereto, whereas casino website (3 b) is shownas being logically connected to two computer workstations (4). It willbe appreciated by those skilled in the art that such an online casinowebsites (3 a, 3 b) can be logically connected to any desired number ofsuch computer workstations (4) simultaneously, which number isphysically limited only by considerations of processing power andInternet access bandwidth.

The system (1) includes, further, an administration facility (12) in theform of an application web server, which is communicable with the gamingserver (2) along a communication network (9). The detailed operation ofthe application web server (12) will be outlined in the description thatfollows.

The gaming server (2), the online casino web servers (not shown)corresponding to the online casino websites (3 a, 3 b), the computerworkstations (4) and the application web server (12) are capable ofcommunicating with each other by means of an open communication networkthat is, in this embodiment, the World Wide Web of the Internet.Although the World Wide Web of the Internet is a single packet-switchedcommunication network, it is represented in FIG. 1 as separate logicalcommunication networks (6,7,8,9, 10 and 11).

The application web server (12) provides a clearing account facility(13) that has a clearing account corresponding to each one of the onlinecasino websites (3 a, 3 b). Analogously, each online casino websites (3a, 3 b) includes a corresponding credit account facility (14 a, 14 b)with a credit account corresponding to each player who participates inthe game of poker through a computer workstation (4) logically connectedto that casino website. In the illustrated embodiment, therefore, thecredit account facility (14 a) has one player credit account associatedwith it, while credit account facility (14 b) has two associated playercredit accounts.

The gaming server (2) operates under control of a server stored program(not shown) capable of enabling a predetermined maximum number, say 8,of players to play an instance of the game of multiplayer poker. Whenthe number of players reaches this predetermined maximum number, theserver stored program causes a further instance of the game to beinitiated, the new instance of the game also being capable ofaccommodating a further 8 players. In this manner the gaming server iscapable, under server stored program control, to spawn as many separateinstances of the game of multiplayer poker as required in order toaccommodate a pool of players who desire to play the game, in groups ofa maximum of 8. Each instance of the game spawned in this manner istreated as totally independent of the other instances.

The online casino websites (3 a, 3 b) enable a player who desires tojoin the game of multiplayer poker to request, by means of one of thecomputer workstations (4), participation in the game and, once admittedto an instance of the game, to place a wager on a turn of that instanceof the game. Each participating player is presented with an identicalgraphical user interface (GUI) on his respective computer workstation(4) by a separate workstation stored program in the workstation. The GUIpresents to the player a suitable display of a poker game (not shown)with appropriate activatable icons that enable the player to make hisown desired game play decisions and to monitor the progress of themultiplayer game by viewing the game play decisions of the otherparticipating players in the same instance of the game.

The server-stored program also provides a wagering means (17) operableby any participating player to place a wager on a turn of the game, aswell as a discrimination means (15) capable of determining whether anywager placed by any one of the participating players on the turn of theinstance of the game of multiplayer poker is successful or unsuccessful.The stored program in the gaming server (2) also maintains a dynamicregister (16) of all players admitted to, and actively participating in,all the spawned instances of the poker game from time to time, togetherwith data representative of a corresponding portal (3 a, 3 b) throughwhich each participating player accessed the game. The dynamic register(16) also contains data representative of an instance of the game inwhich the player is participating. The application web server (12) alsosettles the wagers of the participating players after the completion ofevery turn of any instance of the game.

Each computer workstation (4) is a conventional personal computeroperating under a Windows 2000 operating system, which is well known andcommercially available from the Microsoft Corporation of Seattle, Wash.,USA. The gaming server (2) also operates under the Windows 2000operating system. The zero-sum game of multiplayer poker consists of aworkstation-stored program (not shown) referred to, for convenience, asa client process that is executable on a computer workstation (4), and acorresponding server-stored program (not shown), or server process, thatis executable on the gaming server (2). The server process (not shown)generates one or more random events that affect the outcome of thezero-sum game of poker, such as the dealing of cards to participatingplayers. The client process (not shown) obtains the result of the randomevents from the gaming server (2), across the communication network (4)and displays the outcome of the game on the display monitor (5) in anintelligible manner. In order to play the zero-sum game of multiplayerpoker from any computer workstation (4), the client process (not shown)must first be downloaded from the gaming server (2) to that computerworkstation.

In use, a player wishing to participate in the game of poker uses acomputer workstation (4) to access an online casino website (3 a, 3 b)of his choice. A flow diagram outlining the steps required in order fora player to participate in an instance of the game is indicated in FIG.2. The player is presented with an icon (not shown) on the GUI on hiscomputer workstation (4), which the user can activate in order torequest participation in the poker game. The user's request forparticipation (100) is passed by the online casino website (3 a, 3 b) tothe gaming server (2), which adjudicates and processes the request inthe following manner

-   -   1. if all existing instances of the poker game are currently        being played by 8 players, the existing instances of the game        are all fully occupied and the would-be player cannot be        admitted to any instance of the game (101). The user is notified        of the situation and prompted to join a waiting list of would-be        players (102);    -   2. if any one of the existing instances of the poker game does        have a vacancy, the would-be player is admitted to that instance        of the game (103) or if previously on the waiting list, is        removed therefrom and admitted to that instance of the game. An        appropriate multiplayer poker GUI is presented to the        newly-admitted player (at 104) to allow him to play the game and        to place wagers thereon;    -   3. the register of active participating players is updated (at        105) to include the details of the newly-admitted player,        together with data representative of the online casino from        which the player was admitted to the game, as well as the        particular instance of the game to which he has been admitted;    -   4. when the waiting list of would-be players has grown        sufficiently large, say 4 or 5 would-be players (106), the        gaming server spawns a new instance of the game (107) to        accommodate the would-be players in the waiting list, and the        list is flushed (108); and    -   5. the register of active participating players is updated (105)        to include the details of all the newly-admitted players in the        newly-spawned instance of the game, together with data        representative of the online casino from which the players were        admitted to the instance of the game, as well as the particular        instance of the game to which the players have been admitted.

Any player is able to leave the instance of the poker game in which heis participating at any time upon completion of a turn of that instanceof the game. A flow diagram outlining the steps required for a player toleave an existing instance of the game is outlined in FIG. 3. When aparticipating player leaves an instance of the poker game (200), theplayer's departure results in the system (1) undertaking the followingactions:

-   -   1. the GUI corresponding to the poker game on the computer        workstation is replaced by one allowing the player to select        another casino game to play (201);    -   2. the departing player's details are removed from the register        of active participating players (202); and    -   3. the remaining instances of the game are analysed in order to        collapse any sparsely populated instances of the game and to        consolidate the participating players in these instances into a        single more densely-populated instance of the game (203).

The participating players in any instance of the game utilise thewagering means (17) to place wagers from time to time on a turn of thepoker game and effect playing decisions required during the progress ofthe turn, as described above. Once the turn of the game has beencompleted, the discrimination means (15) determines which of the playersis the winner of the turn and the application web server (12) settlesthe wagers placed by the participating players on that turn of theinstance of game, as follows, as indicated in FIG. 4:

-   -   1. the gaming server (2) notifies an online casino website (3 a,        3 b) associated with each player who has made a wager on the        turn of the game (300). Each of the online casino websites (3 a,        3 b) then debits the individual credit account of its associated        player by an amount equivalent to the magnitude of that player's        wager (301);    -   2. the clearing account of an online casino website (3 a, 3 b)        associated with each player who has made a wager on the turn of        the game is then debited by an amount equivalent to the        magnitude of that player's corresponding wager (302);    -   3. the clearing account of an online casino website (3 a, 3 b)        associated with the player who has made the successful wager        (303) on the turn of the game is credited by an amount        equivalent to the total of all the wagers inclusive of the        successful wager (304); and    -   4. the gaming server (2) also notifies the online casino website        (3 a, 3 b) associated with the successful player (305) and that        online casino website credits the individual credit account of        the successful player by an amount equivalent to the total of        all the wagers inclusive of the successful wager (306).

It is anticipated that the wagers placed by the participating players inthe game will be made with credit purchased by such players prior totheir participation in the game. For this purpose each online casino (3a, 3 b) includes credit-dispensing means (not shown) capable ofdispensing credit to any player who wishes to participate in the pokergame. The player may purchase credit by means of conventional credit ordebit card payment facilities that are well known in the art and whichwill not be described here in detail. Whenever a player purchases creditfrom the credit dispensing means, the corresponding online casino (3 a,3 b) credits that player's credit account with an amount equivalent tothe quantity of credit purchased by the player.

The above embodiment of the invention does not provide any compensationfor an operator of the gaming server who provides the participatingplayers with a facility to play the poker game, or for the online casinowebsites (3 a, 3 b) that make their players available to the gamingserver (2) for establishment of the poker game. In a variation of theabove embodiment, the application server withholds a portion of thetotal of all the wagers on each turn of the game as a rake for thebenefit of the operator of the gaming server (2) and the online casinowebsites (3 a, 3 b). A portion of the rake is credited to the clearingaccount of each online casino (3 a, 3 b) as a function of the proportionof players participating in the turn of the instance of the game throughthat particular casino website. In this variation of the embodiment, theclearing account of the casino (3 a, 3 b) associated with the player whohas made a successful wager on the turn of the game is credited with anamount equivalent to the total of all the wagers inclusive of thesuccessful wager, less the amount of the rake. Analogously, the creditaccount of the player who has made the successful wager is credited byan amount equivalent to the total all the wagers inclusive of thesuccessful wager, less the rake.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the system (1)provides a facility for pooling players from different online casinowebsites (3 a, 3 b) to enable them to participate in the game of poker.Prior art systems which enable players to play multi-player games suchas poker operate within the context of a single online casino andestablish these games by utilising players from that casino only. Thishas undesirable consequences as the pool of potential players is limitedto clients of that particular casino, and a considerable time may berequired for a sufficient number of players to be gathered before a gamecan get underway, leading to player frustration and a high playerattrition rate. The present invention establishes a game with playersdrawn from a multiplicity of different online casinos, that is, from alarger pool of potential players, leading to the establishment of apoker game in a reduced time. Further, an established instance of apoker according to the invention is likely to last longer than a gameestablished under a prior art system, as there is a larger pool ofavailable players from which replacements can be drawn to replaceparticipating players who leave the instance of the game.

It will be further appreciated by those skilled in the art that such anarrangement where players from several online casino websites (3 a, 3 b)are pooled for the purpose of establishing a game, requires the use of aclearing account facility to manage and process the flow of creditbetween the various online casinos from which the pool of players aredrawn.

Numerous modifications are possible to this invention without departingfrom the scope of the invention. In particular, the system may beapplied to any multiplayer zero-sum game on which participating playersmay place wagers. Further examples of such games are backgammon, bridge,gin rummy, canasta, whist or mah-jong. Further, the application webserver (12) can be arranged to monitor the individual credit accountbalances of the participating players at the on-line casino websites (3a and 3 b) and to cause the gaming server (2) to terminate participationin the game of any player whose credit account balance drops below apredetermined minimum threshold. Still further, the administrationfacility may also require each clearing account associated with anon-line casino website to exceed a prescribed minimum balance at alltimes, and for the administration facility (12) to terminateparticipation in the game of all players who have accessed the gamethrough an online casino website whose associated account balance fallsbelow the prescribed minimum balance. Yet further, the credit dispensingmeans (not shown) may be a centralised credit dispensing means, insteadof a distributed one available through each online casino website (3 a,3 b). Finally, a portal need not be an online casino website where avariety of different games are offered to a player, but rather a pokerroom where poker is the only game available to would-be players.

The technical problem solved by this invention is to enableimplementation of distributed multiplayer zero-sum games, such as thoselisted above, drawing and pooling players from different, possiblycompeting, entities such as online casinos or other groups such assports betting organisations and the like. The invention performsdynamic load management by spawning new instances of the multiplayergame and collapsing and merging sparsely populated instances of the gameto accommodate changing levels of player demand. The invention alsosolves a technical problem of inter-entity transaction settlement bymeans of a clearing account facility and a separate clearing accountcorresponding to each entity from which participating players are drawn.Individual player transaction settlement is solved by means of a tier ofindividual player accounts, one for each participating player.

The invention therefore provides a novel system and method forestablishing and administering an online multiplayer zero-sum game froma pool of would-be players drawn from several different on-line casinos.

1. A system for playing a multiplayer zero-sum game, comprising: agaming server operable under program control to regulate the progress ofat least one instance of the zero-sum game, the gaming server enablingparticipation in the at least one instance of the zero-sum game by apredetermined plurality of players; a number of portals communicablewith the gaming server by means of a communication network; a useraccess facility corresponding to each player, each user access facilitybeing operable by a player to access the gaming server along thecommunication network through a selectable one of the number of portals;a register of players participating in the at least one instance of thegame, the register including, for each participating player, datarepresentative of a corresponding portal through which the playeraccessed the gaming server; a wagering means operable by each player toplace a wager on the at least one instance of the zero-sum game; anddiscrimination means responsive to progress of the at least one instanceof the zero-sum game to determine whether a wager placed thereon by anyone of the participating players is successful or unsuccessful.
 2. Asystem as claimed in claim 1 in which the gaming server is operableunder program control to initiate a further instance of the zero-sumgame when all prior instances of the game have the predeterminedplurality of participating players.
 3. A system as claimed in claim 2which includes an administration facility operable to legislate accessat any time to any instance of the game by any would-be playerrequesting participation in the game, as a function of a number ofplayers currently participating in that instance of the game.
 4. Asystem as claimed in claim 3 in which the administration facilityenables participation in any instance of the game by players requestingparticipation through any one of the number of portals.
 5. A system asclaimed in claim 4 in which the register includes data corresponding toeach participating player in every instance of the game, the data beingrepresentative of an instance of the game in which that player isparticipating, and representative of a corresponding portal throughwhich that player accessed the gaming server.
 6. A system as claimed inclaim 3 that includes a clearing account facility having a clearingaccount corresponding to each one of the number of portals.
 7. A systemas claimed in claim 6 in which each portal includes a correspondingsub-register of players participating in any instance of the zero-sumgame through that portal.
 8. A system as claimed in claim 7 in whicheach portal has a corresponding credit account facility having a creditaccount corresponding to each player in its sub-register of players. 9.A system as claimed in claim 8 that includes credit-dispensing meanscapable of dispensing purchased credit to any player participating inany instance of the zero-sum game in order to play the game, the creditaccount facility being operable to credit the credit account of anyplayer who has purchased credit through the credit dispensing means withan amount equivalent to the credit purchased by that player.
 10. Asystem as claimed in claim 6 in which the clearing account facility iscontrollable by the discrimination means to debit the clearing accountof a portal associated with each player who has made an unsuccessfulwager on a turn of an instance of the game by an amount equivalent tothe magnitude of that player's wager.
 11. A system as claimed in claim10 in which the administration facility withholds a portion of the totalof all the wagers on the turn of the instance of the game as a rake. 12.A system as claimed in claim 11 in which the clearing account facilityis controllable by the discrimination means to credit the clearingaccount of a portal associated with a player who has made a successfulwager on the turn of the instance of the game by an amount equivalent tothe total of all the unsuccessful wagers in that turn, less the rake.13. A system as claimed in claim 12 in which the credit account facilityof each portal debits the credit account of any player who has made awager on the turn of the instance of the game through that portal by anamount equivalent to the magnitude of the wager.
 14. A system as claimedin claim 13 in which the credit account facility of each portal creditsthe credit account of any player who has made a successful wager on theturn of the instance of the game through that portal by an amountequivalent to the total of all the wagers inclusive of the successfulwager, less the rake.
 15. A system as claimed in claim 10 in which theclearing account facility adjusts the individual clearing accountbalances of the portals only after a plurality of turns of the instanceof the zero-sum game as a function of outcomes of the plurality ofturns.
 16. A system as claimed in claim 6 in which each clearing accountbalance has a corresponding minimum threshold.
 17. A system as claimedin claim 16 in which the administration facility suspends from furtherparticipation in any instance of the zero-sum game all players whoseassociated portal has a clearing account balance that is less than itsrespective minimum threshold.
 18. A system as claimed in claim 11 inwhich at least a portion of the rake in the turn of the instance of thegame is credited to the clearing accounts of each portal as a functionof a proportion of players participating in the turn through thatportal.
 19. A system as claimed in claim 1 in which the communicationnetwork is an open communication network.
 20. A system as claimed inclaim 19 in which the open communication network is the Internet.
 21. Asystem as claimed in claim 20 in which each portal is a website on theWorld Wide Web of the Internet.
 22. A system as claimed in claim 21 inwhich the website is an on-line casino website.
 23. A system as claimedin claim 21 in which the website is a poker room website.
 24. A systemas claimed in claim 21 in which the user access facility is a computerworkstation connectable to the World Wide Web of the Internet.
 25. Asystem as claimed in claim 11 in which the rake withheld from the totalof all the wagers on each turn of the game is zero.
 26. A system asclaimed in claim 1 in which the multiplayer zero-sum game is a game ofmultiplayer poker.
 27. A server system for a multiplayer zero-sum game,comprising: a gaming server operable under program control to regulatethe progress of at least one instance of the zero-sum game in which apredetermined plurality of players can participate, the gaming serverbeing communicable with a number of portals by means of a communicationnetwork and accessible by any one of the plurality of players through aselectable one of the number of portals; a register of playersparticipating in the at least one instance of the game, the registerincluding, for each participating player, data representative of acorresponding portal through which the player accessed the gamingserver; and discrimination means responsive to progress of the at leastone instance of the zero-sum game to determine whether a wager placedthereon by any one of the participating players is successful orunsuccessful.
 28. A server system as claimed in claim 27 in which thegaming server is operable under program control to initiate a furtherinstance of the zero-sum game when all prior instances of the game havethe predetermined plurality of participating players.
 29. A serversystem as claimed in claim 28 that includes an administration facilityto be operable to legislate access at any time to any instance of thegame by any would-be player requesting participation in the game, as afunction of the number of players currently participating in thatinstance of the game.
 30. A server system as claimed in claim 29 inwhich the administration facility enables participation in any instanceof the game by players requesting participation through any one of thenumber of portals.
 31. A server system as claimed in claim 30 in whichthe register includes data corresponding to each participating player inevery instance of the game, the data being representative of an instanceof the game in which that player is participating, and representative ofa corresponding portal through which that player accessed the gamingserver.
 32. A server system as claimed in claim 30 that includes aclearing account facility having a clearing account corresponding toeach one of the number of portals.
 33. A server system as claimed inclaim 32 in which each portal includes a sub-register of playersparticipating in any instance of the zero-sum game through that portal.34. A server system as claimed in claim 33 in which each portal has acorresponding credit account facility having a credit accountcorresponding to each player in its sub-register of players.
 35. Aserver system as claimed in claim 34 that includes credit-dispensingmeans capable of dispensing purchased credit to any player participatingin any instance of the zero-sum game in order to play the game, thecredit account facility being operable to credit the credit account ofany player who has purchased credit through the credit dispensing meanswith an amount equivalent to the credit purchased by that player.
 36. Aserver system as claimed in claim 32 in which the clearing accountfacility is controllable by the discrimination means to debit theclearing account of a portal associated with each player who has made anunsuccessful wager on the turn of an instance of the game by an amountequivalent to the magnitude of that player's wager.
 37. A server systemas claimed in claim 36 in which the administration facility withholds aportion of the total of all the wagers on the turn of the instance ofthe game as a rake.
 38. A server system as claimed in claim 37 in whichthe clearing account facility is controllable by the discriminationmeans to credit the clearing account of a portal associated with aplayer who has made a successful wager on the turn of the instance ofthe game by an amount equivalent to the total of all the unsuccessfulwagers in that turn, less the rake.
 39. A server system as claimed inclaim 38 in which the credit account facility of each portal debits thecredit account of any player who has made a wager on the turn of theinstance of the game through that portal by an amount equivalent to themagnitude of the wager.
 40. A server system as claimed in claim 39 inwhich the credit account facility of each portal credits the creditaccount of any player who has made a successful wager on the turn of theinstance of the game through that portal by an amount equivalent to thetotal of all the wagers inclusive of the successful wager, less therake.
 41. A server system as claimed in claim 36 in which the clearingaccount facility adjusts the individual clearing account balances of theportals only after a plurality of turns of the instance of the zero-sumgame as a function of outcomes of the plurality of turns.
 42. A serversystem as claimed in claim 32 in which each clearing account balance hasa corresponding minimum threshold.
 43. A server system as claimed inclaim 42 in which the administration facility suspends from furtherparticipation in any instance of the zero-sum game all players whoseassociated portal has a clearing account balance that is less than itsrespective minimum threshold.
 44. A server system as claimed in claim 37in which at least a portion of the rake in the turn of the instance ofthe game is credited to the clearing accounts of each portal as afunction of a proportion of players participating in the turn throughthat portal.
 45. A server system as claimed in claim 37 in which therake withheld from the total of all the wagers on each turn of the gameis zero.
 46. A server system as claimed in claim 27 in which themultiplayer zero-sum game is a game of multiplayer poker.
 47. A methodof operation of a system for playing a multiplayer zero-sum game,comprising the steps of: controlling a gaming server to regulate theprogress of at least one instance of the zero-sum game, the gamingserver enabling participation in the at least one instance of thezero-sum game by a predetermined plurality of players; providing anumber of portals communicable with the gaming server by means of acommunication network; establishing access to the gaming server for eachplayer along the communication network through a corresponding one ofthe number of portals; maintaining a register of players participatingin the at least one instance of the game, the register including, foreach participating player, data representative of the correspondingportal through which the player accessed the gaming server; accepting awager from any participating player on the at least one instance of thezero-sum game; and determining whether a wager placed by any one of theparticipating players is successful or unsuccessful in response toprogress of the at least one instance of the zero-sum game.
 48. A methodas claimed in claim 47 that includes the step of controlling the gamingserver to initiate a further instance of the zero-sum game when allprior instances of the game have the predetermined plurality ofparticipating players.
 49. A method as claimed in claim 48 that includesthe additional step of legislating access at any time to any instance ofthe game by any would-be player requesting participation in the game, asa function of a number of players currently participating in thatinstance of the game.
 50. A method as claimed in claim 49 in whichparticipation is enabled in any instance of the game by playersrequesting participation in the game through any one of the number ofportals.
 51. A method as claimed in claim 50 in which data correspondingto each participating player in every instance of the game is includedin the register, the data being representative of an instance of thegame in which that player is participating, and representative of acorresponding portal through which that player accessed the gamingserver.
 52. A method as claimed in claim 49 that includes the step ofmaintaining a clearing account corresponding to each one of the numberof portals.
 53. A method as claimed in claim 52 that includes theadditional step of establishing a sub-register corresponding to eachportal, the sub-register containing details of players participating inany instance of the zero-sum game through that portal.
 54. A method asclaimed in claim 53 in which a credit account is maintainedcorresponding to each player included in the sub-register of players.55. A method as claimed in claim 54 that includes the steps ofdispensing purchased credit to any player participating in any instanceof the zero-sum game in order to play the game, and crediting the creditaccount of any player who has purchased credit by an amount equivalentto the credit purchased by that player.
 56. A method as claimed in claim52 in which the clearing account of a portal associated with each playerwho has made an unsuccessful wager on the turn of an instance of thegame is debited by an amount equivalent to the magnitude of thatplayer's wager.
 57. A method as claimed in claim 56 in which a portionof the total of all the wagers on the turn of the instance of the gameis withheld as a rake.
 58. A method as claimed in claim 57 in which theclearing account of a portal associated with a player who has made asuccessful wager on the turn of the instance of the game is creditedwith an amount equivalent to the total of all the unsuccessful wagers inthat turn, less the rake.
 59. A method as claimed in claim 58 in whichthe credit account of any player who has made a wager on the turn of theinstance of the game is debited by an amount equivalent to the magnitudeof the wager.
 60. A method as claimed in claim 59 in which the creditaccount of any player who has made a successful wager on the turn of theinstance of the game is credited by an amount equivalent to the total ofall the wagers inclusive of the successful wager, less the rake.
 61. Amethod as claimed in claim 56 in which the individual clearing accountbalances of the portals are adjusted only after a plurality of turns ofthe instance of the zero-sum game as a function of outcomes of theplurality of turns.
 62. A method as claimed in claim 52 that includesthe step of determining a corresponding minimum threshold associatedwith each clearing account balance.
 63. A method as claimed in claim 62in which all players whose associated portal has a clearing accountbalance that is less than its respective minimum threshold are suspendedfrom further participation in any instance of the zero-sum game.
 64. Amethod as claimed in claim 57 in which at least a portion of the rake inthe turn of the instance of the game is credited to the clearingaccounts of each portal as a function of a portion of playersparticipating in the turn through that portal.
 65. A method as claimedin claim 57 in which the rake withheld from the total of all the wagerson each turn of the game is set to be zero.
 66. A method as claimedclaim 47 in which the multiplayer zero-sum game is a game of multiplayerpoker.
 67. A method of operation of a server system for playing amultiplayer zero-sum game, comprising the steps of: controlling a gamingserver to regulate the progress of at least one instance of the zero-sumgame, the game server enabling participation in the at least oneinstance of the zero-sum game by a predetermined plurality of players;providing a number of portals communicable with the gaming server bymeans of a communication network; establishing access to the gamingserver along the communication network through a corresponding one ofthe number of portals; maintaining a register of players participatingin the at least one instance of the game, the register including, foreach participating player, data representative of the correspondingportal through which the player accessed the gaming server; accepting awager from any participating player on the at least one instance of thezero-sum game; and determining whether a wager placed by any one of theparticipating players is successful or unsuccessful in response toprogress of the at least one instance of the zero-sum game.
 68. A methodof operation of a server system as claimed in claim 67 that includes thestep of controlling the gaming server to initiate a further instance ofthe zero-sum game when all the prior instances of the game have thepredetermined plurality of participating players.
 69. A method ofoperation of a server system as claimed in claim 68 that includes theadditional step of legislating access at any time to any instance of thegame by any would-be player requesting participation in the game, as afunction of a number of players participating in that instance of thegame.
 70. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim69 in which participation is enabled in any instance of the game byplayers requesting participation in the game through any one of thenumber of portals.
 71. A method of operation of a server system asclaimed in claim 70 in which data corresponding to each participatingplayer in every instance of the game is included in the register, thedata being representative of an instance of the game in which thatplayer is participating, and representative of a corresponding portalthrough which that player accessed the gaming server.
 72. A method ofoperation of a server system as claimed in claim 69 that includes thestep of maintaining a clearing account corresponding to each one of thenumber of portals.
 73. A method of operation of a server system asclaimed in claim 72 that includes the additional step of establishing asub-register corresponding to each portal, the sub-register containingdetails of players participating in any instance of the zero-sum gamethrough that portal.
 74. A method of operation of a server system asclaimed in claim 73 in which a credit account is maintainedcorresponding to each player included in the sub-register of players.75. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 74 thatincludes the steps of dispensing purchased credit to any playerparticipating in any instance of the zero-sum game in order to play thegame, and crediting the credit account of any player who has purchasedcredit by an amount equivalent to the credit purchased by that player.76. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 72 inwhich the clearing account of a portal associated with each player whohas made an unsuccessful wager on the turn of an instance of the game isdebited by an amount equivalent to the magnitude of that player's wager.77. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 76 inwhich a portion of the total of all the wagers on the turn of theinstance of the game is withheld as a rake.
 78. A method of operation ofa server system as claimed in claim 77 in which the clearing account ofa portal associated with a player who has made a successful wager on theturn of the instance of the game is credited with an amount equivalentto the total of all the unsuccessful wagers in that turn, less the rake.79. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim 78 inwhich the credit account of any player who has made a wager on the turnof the instance of the game is debited by an amount equivalent to themagnitude of the wager.
 80. A method of operation of a server system asclaimed in claim 79 in which the credit account of any player who hasmade a successful wager on the turn of the instance of the game iscredited by an amount equivalent to the total of all the wagersinclusive of the successful wager, less the rake.
 81. A method ofoperation of a server system as claimed in claim 76 in which theindividual clearing account balances of the portals are adjusted onlyafter a plurality of turns of the instance of the zero-sum game as afunction of outcomes of the plurality of turns.
 82. A method ofoperation of a server system as claimed in claim 72 that includes thestep of determining a minimum threshold associated with each clearingaccount balance.
 83. A method of operation of a server system as claimedin claim 82 in which all players whose associated portal has a clearingaccount balance that is less than its respective minimum threshold aresuspended from further participation in any instance of the zero-sumgame.
 84. A method of operation of a server system as claimed in claim77 in which at least a portion of the rake in the turn of the instanceof the game is credited to the clearing accounts of each portal as afunction of a proportion of players participating in the turn throughthat portal.
 85. A method of operation of a server system as claimed inclaim 77 in which the rake withheld from the total of all the wagers oneach turn of the game is set to zero.
 86. A method of operation of aserver system as claimed in claim 67 in which the multiplayer zero-sumgame is a game of multiplayer poker.